Blue Moon
by Lilyru
Summary: 'Remus thought perhaps he had always had the nightmares...A night without them was something to celebrate.' Mid-fifth year, with the animagus transformation approaching, and life moving on, who has time for love? Well, sometimes it sneaks up on you. SBRL
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares

**A/N: **This story will be Boylove, RemusxSirius, later on. So if you're not into that sort of thing, just don't read it. There will be lemon in the future, just warning you. So...I'd really appreciate reviews, if you're willing.

**Disclaimer: ** I own nothing you recognize!

**Chapter 1; Nightmares**

_The floor was a blur of leaves, green and mottled brown, no match for the heavy paws stomping them into dust. He practically flew over the forest floor, exhilarated, panting in thickened bursts, desirous of one thing, and one thing only. He knew it like he knew his own howl, like he knew the raised map of scars that marked each time he couldn't have._

_But tonight, he would get what he wanted. That much was certain._

_Clearing the line of trees, the creature stopped, enhanced senses feeling about, sniffing at the air. Ah, just there. Delicious. Just the scent sent sparks across his vision, winking bright in the moon's light, and he could nearly see the clear route the smell set for him to follow. The path was laid out before him, a thrill chilling him to each brittle bone._

_He was going to have, going to get. Going to taste._

_Breaking through the line of trees and onward, he finally spotted the prey; a chubby toddler on curious legs, wandering out past bedtime, eyes wide and frightened like the rabbit he was. This was the food chain, after all, and the idiotic human child was right at the bottom. The wolf only had one thought on its mind. Kill, kill, kill. Blood. Rip and tear and make them hurt like you hurt, make them die. Jaw widening an impossible amount, there was a flash of fangs and an unearthly scream before everything went red._

Remus thought perhaps he had always had the nightmares.

He certainly couldn't remember a time when he hadn't after all, and he'd heard most people didn't have the same nightmare their whole lives, to the point that a night without them was something to celebrate.

He wondered how many other people –no, how many other teenage werewolves, not that he thought there were many of those- had to deal with dreams of being the wolf that had bit them. As he sat up in the darkness of the Gryffindor common room, groping around for sheets that suddenly seemed too hot and too chill at once, Remus realized something with startling clarity, something he had realized again and again, each night when the dream met him with open arms.

He had been scared to sleep for such a long time, but now he was going to meet the inevitable when he let it claim him. Meeting the truth.

That might as well be him. He could be that monster one day, destroying someone else's life. He'd already experienced the wolf's inherent bloodlust every month for the past ten years. Sure, at Hogwarts he had made friends for the first time, people who cared, who had accepted him despite his condition. But not even the Marauders could protect the fifteen-year-old from what he was inside, and not even they could comfort him when the dreams reached their peak, the wolf inside stirring with hunger while every ounce of Remus shivered with revulsion. Because they were separate, he and the wolf, or at least that was what he tried to tell himself. They had to be, didn't they? His reaction was proof of that, even if his logic was desperate.

Speaking of reaction…

Kicking the sweat-soaked sheets to the edge of his bed, Remus darted to the bathroom, trying to muffle his retching so the other boys didn't wake and realize he was puking his guts into the toilet.

Again.

Really, it was going too far. He'd be prematurely gray if he kept this up. Still, it was only at night when the visions visited him. During the day, all but one day a month, he could pretend he was normal. Could pretend he wasn't a monstrous beast just waiting to get out. Could pretend he wasn't a loathsome, horrible _thing_ on the inside.

Could pretend to just be Remus. He probably even liked Remus. It was what Remus became that he couldn't stand.

Ugh. He was going crazier than Sirius's parents. Referring to himself in the third person again.

Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand and sitting back on his haunches, Remus bitterly swiped at the tears threatening to escape from the corner of his eyes. He wasn't crying. Throwing up had just forced moisture out of his eyes. Teenage monsters didn't have the right to feel bad for themselves.

Reaching for a Jane Austin novel kept in the bathroom for this very purpose, Remus muttered a Lumos and settled in for a sleepless night, waiting for the next wave of nausea.

**A/N: **So! This is my first Remus/Sirius story. I don't completely know how it's going to go, but I have ideas. I also don't know if it's going to be top Remus or top Sirius, so anyone with ideas can say so in reviews. Thanks! The start is a little short, I know, but the next few chapters are longer. I just felt like I got my point across with this.


	2. Chapter 2: Ridiculous Loves

**A/N:** Hey guys! Yes, two chapters in one day to hopefully entice someone into reading this. I feel like if I focus I could just constantly write this story, though I have other things to do... Also, I want to write some oneshots. Mmm... oneshots. :'D Once again, this is boyxboy, so don't like, don't read. I really like this chapter because I love the Marauders, so their dialogue was fun to write. Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer: **I own absolutely nothing, except for the plot and such. Not the characters or anything you recognize. That's all J.K. Rowling's.

**Chapter 2; Ridiculous Loves**

Sirius was more than a little worried when he found Remus passed out by the toilet for the millionth time. Of course, being Sirius, he tried to make something witty out of it. "Moony, when are you going to come clean about your love affair with our bathroom? Not that a love affair with a bathroom could really be that clean, mind you, but you know what I'm talking about…"

"Fu'off, Sirius." Sirius raised a curved brow. The normally eloquent Remus reduced to monosyllabic, unintelligible cursing? The bathroom must be one hell of a shag…

"Well, that's not very nice, Remy. I'm just trying to make polite conversation with you and your future bride, the loo. Now, if you don't mind, could you kindly shove off and allow me enough space to piss?"

"Oi, Sirius, don't you know Moons is trying to protect his love from you? Get your miniature prick away from her!" James had appeared from who knows where, brandishing an imaginary sword. "Do not worry, Remus! I shall protect your love's honor!" Remus, now somewhat awake thanks to his loudmouth friends, sat up and rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"Don't be silly, James. The bathroom is only a cover-up for my true love…Northanger Abbey." Remus declared, brandishing the book in question at his friend, having found that it was still clutched in his grip after his late night.

"He's lying, James." Peter piped up from the doorway, grinning at their early-morning antics. "Everyone knows Remus loves chocolate and only chocolate."

"James is the liar here!" Sirius exclaimed, puffing himself up. "My prick is certainly not miniature! Ask anyone! Well, not anyone, per se, but a good amount of…I don't know, ask some Ravenclaw bird, if one of you can remember who I had that last date with. I certainly can't. Might've been a tad sloshed that night." On the other side of the room, Frank Longbottom groaned and shoved his head beneath his pillow. It was famously hard to get a good night's sleep with these four as roommates.

"Oh, like you tricked that girl into getting anywhere near your prick, Sirius." Remus replied, picking himself up off the ground and striding out of the room to change. The boy in question clutched his heart, shaggy black hair flying this way and that as he staggered back.

"I'm hit! Oh, Moony, I'm hit! Dying, dead!" The boy exclaimed, clutching at James and Peter as if to keep himself upright. Remus sighed and shrugged out of his pajamas, sweeping his clean robes from where he had put them the night before in preparation, and doing them up just as deftly.

"I told you not to call me that. C'mon then, you lot. If we're all up anyway we might as well be getting to breakfast." With that, he swept out of the room, leaving Peter and James to hurry to get ready and Sirius to stare at the ground where he'd fallen once the two boys had stopped letting him cling.

There was a splatter of what appeared to be vomit next to the toilet seat. Sirius scrambled back, wrinkling his nose. Well, that was gross.

But it was also upsetting. No one had been puking, as far as he knew, but it explained Remus's late night visits to the bathroom which resulted in the boy sleeping on the floor. Was Moony sick? Did it have something to do with the wolf? A new stage of his monthly process, maybe? A frown creasing his brow as he worried, Sirius stood.

Something was wrong, and he was going to find out what it was. He wasn't a Marauder for nothing.

Remus was pretty positive that Sirius was the most obvious person in the world. Subtlety just wasn't a word the older boy knew. As if to prove his point, Sirius sauntered into the Great Hall, plopped down next to him, and as he was heaping meat products on his plate, leaned to whisper into Remus's ear.

"So, Rem, have you been horrifically ill recently?"

Remus choked on his toast so violently that Peter scrambled to make sure he wasn't in need of first aid and James fell off his seat. Sirius just grinned, after making sure the offending item had been successfully dislodged from the boy's lungs by Peter's frantic whack to the spine. "I'm taking that as a yes, Moony." Remus glared at him over the rim of his pumpkin juice cup, trying to force panicked visions of his nightmare from his waking mind.

"Where'd you get a silly idea like that, Sirius?" Without waiting for the oh-so-clever boy to respond, he marched out of the dining hall and onto the grounds, desperate for fresh air.

Because suddenly leaving wasn't suspicious at all.

**A/N: **So...yep! Review if you feel up to it, I'd appreciate it. I'm working on the third chapter as I write this, so it should be out rather soon. I would just finish up today and then post it now, but then you'd all be spoiled. So...maybe tomorrow? I don't have a particular time set for how long it is between posts. It's basically when I'm done, but I'm pretty quick and pretty eager to procrastinate, so it should be fine. See you! Also, I would like to say that I'm open to writing a oneshot for people, so just PM me if you want something made. I'm taking requests.


	3. Chapter 3: Black Queens

**A/N: **Hey, so here's chapter three! This was done yesterday, honestly...I just felt like making sure I had cranked out a few more words on number four before posting it so I wouldn't keep anyone reading this waiting. Once more, tis boyxboy, and it will not suddenly become heterosexual if you stare at it. However, there are hints of JamesxLily in this one, which is indeed heterosexual!

**Disclaimer: **I am not claiming to own Harry Potter or anyone in it. Promise.

**Chapter 3; Black Queens**

"We have to show him soon!"

Sirius's shout went largely ignored, partially because those in the common room were used to his outbursts. Pouting slightly at the lack of reaction, Sirius bounded over one of the comfier couches, causing the girls clustered by it to titter flirtatiously. "James! Peter! We have to show him!" Neither boy looked up, remaining engrossed in their heated Wizard Chess battle.

"Queen to D6. Check." Peter's black queen moved into position, sent James's knight crackling to the floor, and then returned to her usual stately posture, straightening as she realized victory was within her sight.

"Hold your hippogriffs, Black" James muttered, eyes flickering over the board. "Pete's really on his game today. Don't know how he's doing it." Sirius tugged at him, exasperatedly.

"You don't even have the patience for chess, mate!"

"Actually, that's probably why I'm winning. He keeps using up his thinking time to make moon eyes at Evans." Peter teased, leaning over in his chair to squint at the board. "Are you moving anytime soon, James? I've got my strategy picked out already."

"Agh!" James flicked over his king, who squirmed on the ground in protest. "I forfeit. Chess isn't an important game, anyway. Play me at Quidditch and I'll show you a _real _competition." James winked, knowing there was no way Peter would beat him at anything even remotely involving a broom. "I get better grades than you anyway."

"That doesn't mean I can't be better than you at chess."

"Will you two shut up and listen to me?" Both boys turned to Sirius expectantly.

"What was it that we needed to show who?"

"Remus!" Sirius leant down, and with an exaggerated glance around to make sure they weren't being listened to, hissed his next statement. "We have to show him the…you know, the..." He inclined his head meaningfully, and James's eyes widened in realization.

"That? Mate, we're not quite ready yet."

"Well, we better get ready. Remus needs it, I think."

"But Sirius…" James grinned, setting himself up for a brilliant joke, if he did say so himself. "You don't _think_." Sirius dismissed this with a rather disappointing wave of the hand.

"Fine then. I _know_ he needs it. Happy?"

Within fifteen minutes, Sirius had pried James away from Lily (Who hadn't wanted him there anyway), baited Peter with sweets, and gotten the three of them gathered in the center of the Room of Requirement. Say whatever else you want about Sirius Black, but no one can say he's not persistent. And devilishly handsome.

"I know you're anxious, mate, but we had a meeting about this scheduled for tomorrow." James ran his hand through his already wild hair, only succeeding in mussing it further. "Specially made schedule, remember? Created so we can meet while Remus is busy and won't suspect? Did you really have to drag me here just when Lily Evans acknowledged me?" He looked up and visibly softened. "We all want to do this for him, Sirius. Not just you."

"James, first, Remus isn't busy nearly enough. Second, Lily was telling you to shove off anyway, since you were practically slobbering on her shoes. Third, I know you two care. It's just…the rate we're going, we won't be done for a hundred full moons!" He threw up his hands and abruptly collapsed into one of the chairs littered around the room, head buried in his arms. "James, Peter…" He said quietly. "I think something may be wrong with Remus." Peter crinkled his fair brows.

"But…We know that, Sirius. We're doing this because of the werewolf thing, remember? Or is it something else?"

"Something else…I mean, I don't think he's sleeping well, did you see the bags under his eyes?"

"Sirius, you're talking like his mother again. And maybe he's just got a bird."

"Shut your gob, James. And Rem wouldn't shag someone without telling m- I mean, _us_, would he? And I think he vomited last night anyway. There was…sick on the bathroom floor."

"He's probably just got the flu. You know Rem, never wants us to worry. He'll go to Madam Pomfrey if it's bad."

Sirius looked unconvinced. "I guess."

"Besides," Peter gave them both a smile before continuing. "It won't take a hundred full moons! The animagus thing is really coming along."

"Yeah, but we need to memorize those last two spells, which is bound to take at least a bit, and the potions won't even be done brewing until after the next full, during which time the wolf could disembowel him and leave him to die." Sirius flopped back dramatically, trying not to show just how much that idea had pained him. "And that's the timeline if we did everything correctly, which we might not have. And you know how Moony will feel if one of us makes a stupid mistake and dies trying to help him."

"I think it's in the wolf's best interest to keep Moony alive too, mate. It's not like the creature itself feels ill will toward Remus. It _is_ him. It just…can't help it, I think." Sirius's response to those words was violent and instantaneous. The boy sat up as if electrocuted and lunged toward his friend, catching the front of his shirt in his clenched fist and pulling him forward.

"Shut up, James! That wolf is _not_, and never will be, Remus! It's just inside him. He wasn't born like that."

"You didn't have to snap, mate. You know I didn't mean it like that." Sirius winced and retreated, nodding.

"I do. Sorry. Let's just...practice, okay?

**A/N: **Please review!


	4. Chapter 4: Tickle Fights

**A/N: **Alright, so this is chapter four! I'm working far quicker than I have on a chapter story before (on other places, I mean. this is only my second story here.) so let's hope I didn't jinx it just now! *knocks on wood* But, yes, I hope you enjoy. Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed so far, I appreciate it a ton.

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish I owned the Marauders, I sadly don't, and they'd destroy my home and wreak havoc on my friends anyway, so that's okay. Everything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's.

**Chapter Four; Tickle Fights **

It wasn't a well-known fact that Sirius Black didn't like feeling helpless. One could assume as much, but most simply thought that he never _was_ helpless, that he always had a plan. But they wouldn't be correct. While he did indeed frequently have a plan, there were things that made him feel helpless. More than disliking it, he downright rejected the emotion. He was a bundle of activity, and as a result, always had the desperate urge to do something. Anything. So it was more than concern for one of his closest friends that aided Sirius's hatred of the full moon. Seeing Remus on a hospital bed once a month, torn up, scratched, dirtied, and then forced to lie to everyone but the Marauders about where he had been stirred a rather strong emotion in him.

That is, Sirius hated every aspect of it.

Because he didn't like seeing Remus wounded, but there was nothing he could do about it.

That was where the Animgus idea had come in. Remus had only managed to lie to his friends about his monthly disappearances for their first year, before the three caught on and pieced it together, resulting in a rather emotional confrontation in which they assured the near-tears Remus that they didn't think any less of him. Not too long after that, Sirius, shocked by a particularly large gash down Moony's side, close to his ribs and therefore his vital organs, had gone to the library of his own free will for the first time and actively looked for a solution. It had barely been a week before James and Peter realized what was going on and joined him in his hunt. The three worked late, learning which parts of the library Remus frequented in order to avoid their friend, who would no doubt be embarrassed by the quest. They hadn't found a cure for lycanthropy, like a rather ambitious and slightly naïve second-year Sirius had wanted. They had, however, on a night-time trip to the Restricted Section beneath James's oh-so-helpful cloak, discovered a book on Animagi. They had of course known about them before, in concept, from their lessons in McGonagall's class and her transformation on their first day, but at the sight of this wondrous book, the idea suddenly became feasible.

All three boys were instantly fascinated. Who cared that it was supposedly far beyond anything they could or should be doing? Who cared that it was insanely dangerous? Were they Marauders or weren't they?

Well, obviously they were. So obviously they took the chance. They'd been practicing and gathering and learning and studying for three years now. It was more effort and more time than Sirius had ever put into anything that didn't involve pranking or flirting. And it would be worth it, if they could make Moony smile and ease the pain the wolf put him through so often.

People also often wrongly assumed that Sirius Black could be fantastic at school without having to do anything at all.

While he was indeed brilliant, Sirius wasn't quite as flippant about his schoolwork as many thought. It did often bore him, when it wasn't dueling or finding ways to sneak extra ingredients into Snivellus's ordinarily perfect cauldron, but the night before important tests, Sirius would study in an intensely casual fashion. Meaning, of course, like he acted like there was no reason to be studying, flipped through Remus's neat notes, and joked around with his friends, while at the same time reaffirming the bits he had picked up in class with his keen hearing. He didn't particularly care if he did well or not, honestly, but in the back of all his bravado was a slight fear that if he did badly he'd simply be proving his parents right; that they were correct in thinking he was a no-good fuckup who would have nothing if he didn't have the Black name. They despised him enough for landing in Gryffindor, though that was something he himself would never regret, and he really didn't want Howlers from his mum if his O.W.L.s turned out less than satisfactory.

Not that his marks would be particularly low without trying anyway. He _was_, after all, truly brilliant. But somewhere within his confident, cocky soul was the desire to prove to himself that he could do things that had nothing to do with his inherited traits, and therefore nothing to do with his bigoted parents.

So we join young Sirius Black trying to study without seeming like he was studying. He had a reputation to maintain after all, so he laughed and joked with the other Marauders while stealthily eying his Care of Magical Creatures textbook. Remus, curled up in the bed next to Sirius's, was much less involved, occasionally grinning and adding some clever comment to the general banter before returning his attention to his own book. Moony seemed on-edge as night approached, drumming his fingers on the cover of his book and forgetting to actually read it, which was strange, but Sirius put it down to the before-test nerves that Remus always seemed to get.

"Don't you have to do the Prefect patrol thing again, Moons?" Remus straightened with pride, as he always did when reminded that he had been named Prefect.

"Not tonight. I asked Lily if she could go on her own because I wanted to go over my notes once more. And 'Moons' is a horrible name that I'd appreciate never being said again."

"Oh c'mon, Moony! It's an adorable nickname! It means your mates like you so much that they give you varied versions of your name!"

"Sirius, it's bad enough that you lot insist on calling me something like Moony in the first place. We don't have any dumb nicknames for _you._" Sirius flopped on his back at the words, staring at the red canopy above his bed.

"Well you _could_. You could call me Sirius the Ruggedly Handsome. Sirius the Charmer of Women. Sirius the Brilliant-Minded Bloke."

"Or Sirius the Terribly Annoying." Huffed Remus under his breath, causing James and Peter, who had been casually chucking a shoe back and forth, to burst into muffled laughter.

This, of course, spawned a gigantic wrestling match in which Sirius valiantly jumped on James, who managed to pull Remus to the floor, who landed on Peter. They all wound up in a panting pile on the rug.

"I…" Sirius stopped to breathe some more. "I won."

"Like hell you did, you oaf. Get off me." Was Remus's protest from his current position of crushed-beneath-Sirius.

"Of course Sirius didn't win. _I _did." Declared James, from slightly above and to the left of Sirius. Peter snorted.

"But I'm the one sitting on you!"

"Yeah, Pete, but that's because you're the heaviest! It's an unfair wrestling advantage! Besides, my Quidditch muscles can throw you any day."

"Just you tr- Oof!" James had indeed managed to buck hard enough to get Peter off his back, before going to pounce on the other boy again with the intent of pinning _him_ this time. Remus wiggled around in an attempt to get out of Sirius's grip as well.

"Will you get off of me now?"

"Nah. Your skinny self is comfy. Your protruding bones are like a deep-tissue massage." Remus tried to hide his laughter by muffling it with the floor, which didn't work that well.

"You are so _odd_."

"At least I'm still pretty, Moony-dear."

"Honestly, Sirius, the things you say sometime-Ah! What are you doing!" With that, Remus dissolved into uncontrollable giggles while Sirius tickled his ribs.

"Aha! Moony, I found your weakness!" Sirius shifted himself upward and began tickling more avidly. "Insert maniacal laughter here! I am now all-powerful!"

"Ha…Sirius if you don't- pffft- don't get off of me, I am going to- aha!"

"Going to what, Moony? Didn't quite hear you."

"Sirius, I mean it! I'll…lick your hand or something!"

"Please do." Sirius stopped tickling him in an effort to don his trademark smirk, but halted abruptly, far closer to Moony than he really should've been in that moment. Remus stared at him for a long moment before knocking him off with a firm kick to the abdomen and standing.

The mood had suddenly changed, somehow. Remus swung back his curtains and climbed into bed, mumbling some form of goodnight before closing them around him.

Sirius just sort of stayed where he was, not quite sure what had just happened.

Also, he really needed to work on his evil laugh if he expected to be taken seriously. 'Insert maniacal laughter here' wasn't all that threatening.

**A/N: **A little longer than usual, eh? Hope that didn't detract from the chapter. Please review if you feel like it, I love feedback.


	5. Chapter 5: Sighing Ways

**A/N: ** So here's the next chapter! For some strange reason, my Sirius Black muse responds to Lady Gaga (who I do not own, preemptively disclaiming that), though I'm not all that surprised. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I've so far responded personally to everyone who did, but I'd just like to empathize how much I appreciate it. You guys keep me going. This chapter has some swearing, but nothing else 'offensive'. It is however slash, so if you aren't comfortable with the idea of Remus and Sirius getting it on, you have my permission to leave.

**Disclaimer: **I do not, never have, and never will, own J.K. Rowling. I do however own a list of all of Remus's sighs, which Sirius might very well recite in the future.

**Chapter 5; Sighing Ways**

Sirius couldn't sleep.

Honestly, this was getting ridiculous. He wasn't even sure how late it was anymore. All he knew was that when he attempted sleeping, his entire body decided he needed to be jittery and wide awake. And that was saying a lot, because Sirius usually slept like a well-shagged Hippogriff.

Ew. He could probably have done without those mental images.

The point was, he was just sort of wide awake in the dark, awkwardly staring at the ceiling, and unsure if he could turn on a light and do something without waking Moony, whose sleeping habits already worried him.

Gad, James was right for once, and that was a definite shocker. Sirius _was_ turning into a total mother when it came to Remus. But it wasn't like he could help it. The closer they got to the Animagus transformation actually being a possibility, the more high-strung he got about it. He just wanted it to be done already. He didn't want to see Moony suffer another moon all alone, but he'd inevitably have to do so.

But if Sirius had anything to do with it, he'd never have to be alone for a full again when they were done. He wouldn't allow it. He needed friends who could keep him safe during the moon _and _bring him chocolate after, not one out of two. Sod it if most werewolves didn't get that; Moony deserved it, and he would.

Speaking of deserving things, what on earth had he done that resulted in this total wide-awake state at a bound to be ungodly hour? Was he being punished for a prank? Sirius didn't think so. He should be rewarded for his pranks, not punished. He should be ushered to the gates of Heaven to receive a bleedin' medal for the enchanted dung bombs that flew after Snape during lunch today, in fact. That was an especially brilliant prank, in fact, as the ever-vigilant McGonagall couldn't actually tell who had bewitched them. Obviously, she assumed it was one of the Marauders (who else would have the genius inspiration for such a feat?) but she couldn't punish them all if she wasn't certain, and the way they were done it was even hard to pin the attack on a singular House. It wasn't as if Gryffindor was Slytherin's only enemy, and he had been less than nice to many in the past.

_Yes_, Sirius thought, grinning with satisfaction, _I'm just basically wonderful in all ways. _

He could almost hear Moony scoffing at him as he thought it, but Moonbeam could go on thinking whatever it was he wanted and doing his Remus-like things (which basically included eating chocolate and reading for far longer than Sirius thought anyone should be allowed to sit still), as far as Sirius was concerned. Everyone _else_ knew he was a brilliant triumph of the ages.

Actually, why was Moony so unimpressed with him? James could be a right prat once in a while –mainly when he disagreed with Sirius- and he still knew to give Sirius credit when credit was due. He'd given him a clap on the back and a rather nice compliment once he stopped choking on his laughter from lunch, and Peter had said something that Sirius couldn't remember but was certainly of admiration quality, while Moony just rolled his eyes and sighed that long-suffering sigh he did so often. That was a little rude, when Sirius was trying so hard to help him out.

I mean, he didn't know Sirius was trying to help him out, but he should be nice anyway.

Unsure why he had just spent the better part of an hour thinking about Remus, Sirius rolled onto his side and sighed a long-suffering sigh of his own. He was going to be more insufferable than usual in class tomorrow if it continued like this. A tired Sirius was not a happy Sirius. No, a tired Sirius was much more like a _grumpy _Sirius, and who wanted that?

He was just beginning to settle more toward sleep when he heard a noise that sent him shooting up again.

Was that…a crying noise? That's weird. He was used to James's snores and murmurs of different variations of Lily Evans's name, and Peter's little snuffles, and Remus performed a Silencio before sleeping so no one could hear him every single night, which Sirius assumed meant Moony was wanking regularly like any normal bloke.

Wait a second..._Moony._

Drawing back his curtains, Sirius sat up and wiggled his feet out of the covers and off the side of the bed, wincing slightly as a rush of cold air hit them. On hurried feet, Sirius crossed the stretch of floor between Remus's bed and his own, peeking into the curtains.

He could barely see at first, but after a moment he made out the figure beneath the covers. Remus was curled into himself, a little lump beneath the blanket. Sirius began to relax, until he heard the sound again.

"Moony? You alright, mate?" There wasn't an answer, just another noise and a slight movement beneath the covers. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sirius thought to wonder why Moony hadn't performed the silencing spell like always. He had gone to bed so abruptly after their impromptu wrestling and tickling session that maybe he had forgotten. But more important things were occurring, and Sirius pushed aside the curtain around Remus's bed a little more, reaching out to touch his shoulder through the cloth.

Instantly, Remus sat up, twisting Sirius's hand back in the process, eyes wide and frightened.

He didn't want to admit it, but Sirius was getting a little scared. "Moons? Are you…crying? Remus?" Without answering, Remus bolted out of the bed and into the bathroom, retching into the toilet. Sirius, after a moment of being vaguely stunned and wondering if it was the wolf that made Remus so obscenely fast, chased after him, laying his hand on the plane of Remus's bony back and rubbing in soothing circles. "Merlin, Remus! I knew you were sick! Fuck…What's wrong?" Remus pushed back from the toilet to glare at him, a little bit of sick in the corner of his mouth.

"Go back to bed, Sirius." His voice was almost eerily calm, in Sirius's opinion.

"No! Moony, tell me what the fuck is going on!"

"It's not any of your business! Go back to bed!"

"Like hell it isn't my business! Remus, you're my best friend, and I will torture it out of you if I have to!"

"Will you shut _up_? You're going to wake the others." Remus's voice was little more than an angry hiss now.

"Moony, I swear to Merlin that I will scream at the top of my lungs if you don't tell me this instant."

"No!"

"A-!" Sirius's fledgling screech was cut off by Remus's hand clapped harshly over his mouth. For a moment, the two boys just glared at each other over the appendage.

"Ew ew ew ew ew, Sirius! Did you just _lick _me?"

"Your hand was on my mouth and I didn't want your blood on my lips, so licking was the only option."

"You're disgusting."

"You threatened to do the same thing earlier!" At this, Moony quieted, staring at him. Then he sighed. It was a different sigh than his usual half-exasperation, half-amusement that came with being the sensible Marauder, different than the one after a long day. This sigh was all weariness, and Sirius ached inside.

"What do you want to know?"

"How long."

"How long what, Sirius?"

"How long have you been getting up to throw up, Remus? Honestly, you can stop avoiding the question." Moony mumbled something, looking down, that in no way would have been possible for Sirius to hear. "Moony, speak up."

"Since I was ten, alright? I was able to keep it in until then, but they got more gruesome."

"Alright? No, Moony, not alright! I thought you just had the flu or something! Merlin! That can't be healthy! ...What's 'they'?" Moony sighed again, and Sirius was nearly convinced by now that no one in history had ever sighed as much as Remus Lupin.

"Just…sit down, or something, Sirius. If you really want me to explain, I will. Just don't tell the others." Not tell James? Not tell Peter? Surely Remus knew that was a lot to ask from a Marauder, who were very like the Musketeers in that all-for-one sort of way. But Sirius sat anyway, knowing he'd just have to find a way to keep a secret.

**A/N: **Thanks so much for reading! Please tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 6: Bottomless Pockets

**A/N: **This chapter actually started writing itself in the middle of a supermarket. This was vaguely irritating, as one does not usually have one's computer in the middle of supermarkets. I practically raced back to the car. There's a little bit of swearing in this part, but nothing else worth a warning.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. I know that before I accidentally said I do not own J.K. Rowling, which I do not, but you all knew what I meant. Yes? Yes.

**Chapter 6; Bottomless Pockets**

Remus was beginning to regret even telling Sirius about the bloody nightmares.

It wasn't as if he had actually even told him everything. He'd said nothing about the sense of heightened awareness within the dream, the tingle in his senses that made it so he could quite nearly feel the whiskers trembling on his face. He didn't tell him about the wolf's slick satisfaction while Remus tried to reject his dreaming with all he had, resulting in the nightly vomiting. He had definitely not told him that sometimes, at the end, he swore he could almost _taste_ the blood.

No, what he'd said had been more along the lines of an extremely awkward "Er, so, basically, I've had these nightmares, right, like, almost every night- or, I suppose, every night, really, and they're, erm, about, just….me, as a wolf, or, I suppose, as the werewolf that, er, bit me, um, eating me. Toddler me, I mean. Um. It's not a big deal- And _don't_ look at me like that, Sirius. I can see those eyes. It's _not. _You don't have to get all weird because of it. It's just a normal part of the werewolf thing, probably. I mean, I've never read anything about it, but it's not like werewolves wrote the books on werewolves, though I think perhaps one should sometime, maybe, um, me, _I_ should. Anyway, it's just a fact of life, and I do _not_ want you making some big thing of it, alright?"

Despite Moony's careful and stuttery wording, Sirius kept gazing at him with the same doleful, big-eyed, guilty look that he got when Remus found him eating his chocolate, but magnified with importance, somehow. He also kept casting _deeply offended_ glares towards Remus's bed, as if it was all his poor innocent pillow's fault.

He would've been able to ignore the looks, honestly, if it weren't for the goddamned _hovering_. Remus could go almost nowhere in the first few days after the admission without Sirius popping up behind him, grinning his usual grin but staring at him in a way that suggested he thought Remus was going to drop off to sleep or start puking or just collapse in a puddle of bones –what a puddle of bones would look like, though, Remus wasn't really sure- on the floor for no reason at all. He also seemed insistent on trying to feed him. Constantly. Like it was his life's mission. Remus wasn't sure what Sirius had said to the house elves, but suddenly he could do nothing without Sirius attempting to shove tarts, and sweets, and once a whole roast chicken at him that he seemed to pull out of his endless pockets. Remus refused every time, partially because he didn't need a damn monitor, and partially because nothing that came out of Sirius's clothes could be sanitary.

James and Peter noticed, of course. How could they not? They, however, put it up to the approaching full moon and the weird, uncharacteristic mother-hen state that Sirius seemed to get in every time they got close.

Except his usual pre-moon state was usually less, well, _manic_ than this, and certainly more subtle.

Well, Remus was simply getting tired of it. He hadn't told Sirius about the nightmares to get him to throw him searing sympathy looks or procure food every time he coughed. He'd told him about them because he was practically forced into it with emotional blackmail, Sirius-charm, and threats to scream at the top of his lungs, which was really something that all of Hogwarts did not want at three AM.

Things didn't really get out of hand, though, until three nights after said telling incident.

The Marauders had just sort of been casually lounging about, pretending to do homework while James and Sirius were actually plotting incredible mischief upon the Slytherins for the next day (assisted by Peter's enthusiastic but somewhat unrealistic ideas, and Moony's thoughtful comments that were followed with the rather hurried warning that, as a Prefect, he knew none of this was happening, had not just suggested whatever he had just suggested, and his ears were temporarily off), as usual, when Sirius had complained really loudly of an aching back. This alone should have rung warning signs in Remus's head, because, while it was not unusual for Sirius to complain loudly, he never did it without an end. He complained about headaches when he wanted Remus to pet him. He complained about neck aches when he wanted James to give him extra pillows. He complained about hickeys when he wanted Peter's big eyes focused on him while he retold the stories of his nighttime romps with unnamed females who he had yet to prove actually existed.

So Sirius complaining about back aches should have alerted Moony that something was going to be gained, and it was not going to be pretty.

When everyone turned their eyes to him expectantly, waiting for the eventual request for whatever it was he wanted, Sirius took it in a far different direction than most had thought.

"D'you think it could be the bed?"

"Sirius, mate, you've slept in that bed for five years, and it's never given you trouble before." James was looking at him rather suspiciously through the thick lenses of his glasses, which for once were not sliding down his nose or halfway to falling off his ear or tangled in his hair, as he had been trying to read a Transfiguration book and therefore didn't have the patience for pretending he could see through them clearly while they were sideways.

"Maybe it's getting old. Maybe there's a loose spring and it is jabbing me."

"Are they even spring mattresses?" Peter thought to ask. Nobody knew.

"Maybe the house elves have bewitched it. Maybe I have grubbed it up so badly that it is sagging with the weight of the pastry crumbs." Sirius continued, voice very, very grave and continuing to make Moony suspicious.

"Maybe there's a pea underneath, princess." Remus muttered from his cross-legged spot on his own, very comfortable bed. No one understood his mumbling but Sirius, who shot him a dark look. Both James and Peter had the feeling they had missed a hilarious comment, because when Remus irritated Sirius's inflated ego, it usually was pretty funny.

They didn't really mind. It happened often enough for there to be another one if they waited a few hours. Besides, James was just as proficient as messing with the lovely Mr. Black, and it wasn't as if it did any irreparable harm, as his sense of self-worth was too high for them to ever actually make a dent.

They thought it was good for him, really. They were being wonderful, dear friends and trying to keep him grounded.

"Shut up, Moony. I think I will simply try something new tonight and see if it makes a difference." Everyone looked at him with slightly wary expressions. If he was going to suggest they try sleeping on the roof again, after last time, he was getting a pillow across the face. Then he spoke with a slight twinkle in his eye, which always meant trouble. "I think I shall sleep on the floor."

"Wouldn't that just, you know, make it hurt _more_?" Asked Peter, a little bewildered by his statement and Moony's sudden stiffening across the room.

"Nonsense, Pete! I've read that it's quite good for the spine!"

Ignoring James's incredulous 'You _read_?', Sirius bounded off his bed with a bundle of covers and pillows in his arms, dropping them all suspiciously close to Remus's bed. "G'night then, chaps!" His voice was exceedingly cheerful. James and Peter raised their eyebrows at each other and Remus, before shrugging and scrambling into their own, continuing to be comfortable, beds.

"I'm investigating your weirdness in the morning, you realize, Sirius." Said James, as he peered down at his book, before giving up and dragging a well-read Quidditch magazine from beneath his pillow instead. "I'm not doing it now because it is late. But I think I may have to perform _tests._ Brain tests. To make sure you haven't caught whatever Bellatrix said."

"That, my dear friend, is a genetic disease from years of Pureblood inbreeding, and I might very well have it. My parents are cousins, you know. No wonder I'm a bit mental." Declared Sirius from the floor, still cheerful, as he made himself comfortable in the absolute mess of blankets.

The moment the light went off, Remus was leaning over the side of the bed and hissing at his friend.

"Sirius, are you _honestly_ sleeping on the floor by my bed. _Really. _And I want you to think carefully about your answer, because the wrong one may force me to behead you."

"Oh, Moony, the things I do for you." Said Sirius's undeniably pleased-with-himself voice.

"What exactly is this meant to achieve?"

"Well, this way I'll hear immediately when you start the nightmare-Don't shush me, Moony, it's unbecoming. And then, I think I'll be able to help. Just include me in the space for the silencing spell, and there's not a problem."

"How exactly are you supposed to _help_?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I'm going to at least try. Plus, this way, I can stop driving you batty by force-feeding you."

And with that logic in mind, Remus regretfully acquiesced.

He immediately knew it was a bad idea.

**A/N: **Thank you for reading! I'll like you more if you review!


	7. Chapter 7: Bedmates

**A/N: **So, here is chapter seven. This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend Mello Pie for being my first double digit review! She also gets a oneshot. It will be Remus/Sirius and it will be SMUT! I really like the prompt. ^^ Yes, so she is wonderful and you must read all her fantastic stories. There are two and they are very well-written.

This chapter may or may not be woefully incoherent, but I digress. It continues to be slash. Thank you all, and read on.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, really. Nothing. Harry Potter and everything in him belong to J.K. Rowling. And by in him, I mean the universe he lives in, rather than Ron.

**Chapter 7: Bedmates**

Remus felt sort of fuzzy, and warm all over. He was also apparently not twisted into a strange position on the tiles of the bathroom. But it couldn't have been one of the blank nights, where he was too tired or too fitful to successfully dream and therefore managed to evade it. It _couldn't._ It couldn't because he remembered actually having the dream. In fact, he was fairly certain it had developed some new twists.

Gad, was it just going to get progressively worse as he got older? Forever?

Stretching his limbs out across the mattress, Remus attempted to burrow deeper into the blankets, stopping with surprised abruptness when he felt something near him that was not, indeed, bed-type materials.

Eyes snapping open, Remus took a few hurried glances around that he soon found himself wishing he could take back, and return to the blissful state of not knowing.

He was actually in his own bed.

So was Sirius.

The other boy was already awake, and looking at him with some sort of almost wary, but thoroughly pleased half-smile.

With a sound that he would later deny was a squeak, Remus shoved Sirius back and too the floor, sitting up extremely quickly.

"What are you doing in my _bed?_"

"Owww…Good lord, Moony, that was unnecessary. Why'd you hit me?"

"_Why are you in my_ _bed_? Or, I mean, I guess, what _were_ you doing in my bed before I hit you, which I did because you were bound to make some horrible shagging joke if I left you long enough."

"Well now I am on the floor and you'll have to ask me again when I come back from the dead."

"Sirius, I'm not having you on. I want an actual coherent response. Answer me."

"Alright, alright. Just don't shove me again, that bloody hurt." Slightly ruffled, the boy pulled up from the floor using the edge of Remus's bed, which he then tentatively sat on, eying him as if he expected Remus to haul off and hit him again. "Well, y'see, last night, I heard you having the dream. So I tried to wake you up, but I guess it wasn't time yet or something, which is really weird, by the way. So I just tried to….well…you were scaring me. So I kind of hugged you."

"Stop saying 'so' at the beginning of your sentences. It's getting irritating."

"Right. So-I mean, then, you got all quiet and sleepy again, but when I left you alone and got back on the floor, it happened again. You were making crying sounds. And it was very difficult to sleep through. So- I mean, eventually, I just kind of got in to hold on to you and I guess I fell asleep. But hey, you didn't throw up, did you? I told you I could help." Remus could barely look at him. It was beyond embarrassing. It was worse than him producing a pie from his clothes in the middle of the Common Room. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it made Remus not know what to say and get flustered, and he hated both those things.

"Well…Thank you, I guess, Sirius."

"That's more like it." He grinned and ruffled Remus's hair. "I can keep doing it, eh, Moony?"

"Who said _that?_"

"Well, you thanked me, and there is significantly more food left in your stomach this morning than there was yesterday morning."

"I don't need your weird…bed-sleeping charity."

"It's not charity. Let's say it's for me. After all," And on this he broke into a wide smirk. "My bed is hurting my back, right? Got a spring loose. And the floor is cold."

"James and Peter are bound to notice."

"Well, that's what we tell them then."

"Fine, Sirius. I'll…I'll think about it."

(-line-)

The thinking about it made things awkward. Sirius spent most of classes staring at him with wide decision-eyes, urging him to make the right choice, whatever that was. Remus just wanted to be left alone.

Therefore, he was exceedingly grateful when Lily Evans sat next to him at lunch. It felt like it had been a horrifically long time since he had spoken to anyone that wasn't a Marauder at length, though it honestly had only been a few days.

The Marauders tended to get possessive of him closer to the moon. They got fairly stifling and he suddenly was allowed to speak to no one. Either they thought he would bite person, or they thought the person would injure _him_ somehow, though they had never explicitly said it was any one of those reasons at all, and it was simply Remus's conjecture. Still, he did find himself a little relieved, as he tended to be snappish and prone to headaches the closer the full moon got, and dealing with classmates that needed help with their work was only bound to make it worse. Lily Evans, though, was not likely to need help with her work. In fact, she sometimes gave Remus tips for not destroying his Potions cauldrons quite so often, so he was rather pleased to see her.

"Hullo Remus," She said, with a rather pretty smile that had Remus grinning back. "Are you doing well? You look a tad peaked."

"No, I'm fine Lily. I'll be alright to patrol with you later, if that's what you're worried about."

"It isn't the patrol. I'm allowed to be worried about my friends, aren't I?"

"Of course you are. Thank you. But I promise, I'm fine." God, Lily was so easy to talk to! There was no posturing or boasting and she could understand when he made references to Shakespeare, and she actually _said_ when she was worried, instead of shoving food at him like an idiot. "Did you read that book I was talking about?"

"I did! Just finished it today, actually. Remus, it's wonderful. I'm so glad you recommended it."

Across the table, James was giving him a look that quite openly said '_Trade with me so I may converse with my lady love and future wife if I beg enough'._

Lily, however, caught his glance toward James and gave him a far more convincing look that argued '_If you leave me alone with the idiot who keeps asking me out I will make you into pudding. And it won't even be good pudding. It will be lumpy and it will taste like wolf'._ Though Remus might have been reading into it a bit, considering Lily had no reason to think anything about Remus had to do with wolves.

Read into or not, the look was convincing, so with a vaguely apologetic gesture at James, Remus stayed, taking a long swig from his Pumpkin Juice to avoid the hurt stare his friend gave him from across the table, which was made stronger by the urging look Sirius had been giving him all day. The only one of the Marauders who had decided to be bearable during lunch was Peter, who was simply being his normal self and not giving Remus urging looks of any kind, about which Remus was pleased, as he would crack under the pressure.

"So," Remus said, as he had to fill the silence with something, and as usual, chose the most awkward possible way to do it.

"So," Lily said, drumming her fingers against the table.

"Will you pass the peas?" Peter asked, perfectly innocent to the miasma of looks that were tainting the Gryffindor table, as none of them were directed at him.

"Sure, Pete, as I am a good friend who **does what his friends want him to do when they have perfectly good reasons for it.**"Replied James, giving Peter the peas without taking his eyes off Remus.

"Er." Was Peter's initial response, which Remus thought aptly described the situation. "Thank you?"

"You didn't ask me anything, James. You've just stared at me."

"Who said I was talking about you, Moony? I didn't say anything about you specifically." James said, giving him another look that said _'I know perfectly well that you can decipher my looks.'_

Remus gave him a responding look which went something like _'You're all obviously determined to drive me to madness.'_

Sirius continued saying nothing, and just giving Remus the urging stare that seemed to go _'Let me sleep in your bed for no good reason.'_

Lily was wondering if they were all just insane. She'd thought Remus was better than that, but perhaps it was rubbing off on him. Oh well, she forgave him for it because he knew what a couplet was and could have an active conversation about the merits of them versus free verse.

Remus was wondering if anything in his life could ever not be awkward for once.

Sirius was staring some more. He had to stop staring in order to cough slightly and eat some roast beef, but he started up again soon enough.

"So, Sirius." Said James, who was still glancing at Lily out of the corner of his eye every few moments like he couldn't help it. Sirius reluctantly pried his eyes away from Remus's face and switched them back to normal, which was not what Remus was expecting. No, it was far better than Remus was expecting. Like getting an early Christmas present. He could suddenly breathe again.

"Yes, Jamesy, me boy?"

"Should we, er, you know, go and revise our Transfiguration homework?" The sentence was laden with some weighted meaning that Remus was positive he absolutely did not want to understand. "Also, why would you ever, ever call me that?" He added that last bit as an afterthought, and it seemed to have no hidden meanings whatsoever.

"Oh?" Asked Sirius, disinterestedly, before something dawned on him. "Oh._Ohhhh. _Yes. Yes we should. Let's go. Come on, Peter."

"Right." Nodded Peter, dropping his fork at once and pushing away his nearly-empty plate. "Later then, Remus. Evans."

"They are not discreet." Remus remarked flatly, turning to Lily. "I don't even know what they're up to this time, I swear, but they are so not discreet."

"The problem is," Began Lily, watching them go with a raised eyebrow. "That they're so often up to no good that it's indecipherable from their normal behavior. Therefore, you can't tell when they're doing something awful, because they are always, always doing something awful. But don't pretend you don't help them." Remus went slightly red.

"They are my _friends_." He replied, which explained nothing and denied nothing, but made it sound as if he was admitting things. "They are my friends, and while they are quite obviously mad and daft, they are _mine._" This was something he thought to himself rather frequently really, though he went pink at the ears upon realizing he had said it out loud. Thankfully though, Lily seemed to understand, with no other response other than a little nod and a subtle glance at the Slytherin table.

**A/N: **Please review!


	8. Chapter 8: Nervous Habits

**A/N: **I know, I know-! It's been ages. I'm really so, so sorry. I won't go into all the sordid details, but let me just say that some family trouble came up and it was really difficult to get any time or muse to write, since it was so draining. While it wasn't technically as long as some authors wait to post, it was still a really long time comparatively to my usual rate, and I honestly apologize. I hope I haven't scared you all away. Thanks for being patient, and here's chapter eight. As a special treat for it being so late, my (rather smutty) oneshot for Mello Yello should be up within the week, if my schedule goes as planned. Thanks!

**Chapter 8; Nervous Habits**

"Aright." Upon hearing the voice, Sirius Black looked up from where he was thumbing through an old novel he'd found on Moony's bed.

"Excuse me?" He asked, rather politely in his own opinion, as usually he would've said 'Huh?'

"I said alright."

"Alright to what, Moony?"

"Alright to the- You know-" Remus gestured uselessly, suddenly directing a large amount of hatred at whatever had possessed him to make him come over here in the first place, especially in such a public place. All the Gryffindors hung out in the common room. He should've waited, and upon realizing this, only just managed to not slap himself in the face for being an idiot. "The… the thing." He added in an extreme fit of eloquence, or, alternatively, an extreme fit of idiocy. He could practically see realization dawn on Sirius, but the other boy was keen to draw this out as much as he saw fit.

"I'm sorry, Rem. I think you'll have to be clearer than that."

"Oh for-" Remus's voice dropped to a hiss. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Black. It's written all over your stupid smirk."

"Why, Remus!" Sirius exclaimed, handsome face contorted into an overdone expression of surprise, gray eyes glinting with barely-concealed mirth. "I had no idea you paid such rapt attention to my facial features and what it is they convey! There wouldn't happen to be an itemized list for my perusal, would there?"

"I'm leaving. I hate you, you know." And, on that, Remus turned and tried to stalk out of the room. Of course, Sirius always had to have the last word.

"If you hated me so much, I wouldn't be sleeping in your bed, Rembrandt!"

Remus was too busy dying of mortification as everyone in the common room turned to look at him to even comment on Sirius's compulsive addiction to stupid nicknames, or if he even know who Rembrandt was.

(-line-)

"So, you're sure we did it right?" Sirius let out a huff of exasperation as the questions started up again, simply continuing to stir the simmering cauldron, and not even looking up as he spoke.

"No, James. I'm not _sure_. We can't be absolutely sure until we try it. But we're great at potions, there's no way we bollocked this one up."

"But, this one's different." Said Peter, apparently deciding he needed to make the layer of apprehension hovering over the Room of Requirement worse. "I mean, in class it's one thing, but if we made one little mistake on this, it could melt our brains."

"That seems like a little bit of an exaggeration-" Before Sirius could even finish the practiced eye-roll that was going along with his words, Peter had shoved the Animagi text in front of his face and slightly to the left, as to compensate for his half-rolled eyes. "Oh. Yes. That does actually say brain melting is possible, apparently." James looked more amused than frightened, but decided to pipe up anyway.

"Stir carefully then, Sirius. I'd like to keep my brain as unmelted as possible."

"Yes James, I'm sure your thousands of Evans fantasies would miss you dearly if you were melted. Now shut up. I'm trying to keep count."

"It's up to nineteen." Peter added, helpfully. "Or, I'm pretty sure it is."

"I thought it was at twenty-one at the moment, actually." Added James, shoving his hands into his pockets and still stinging over the fantasizing remark.

"Neither of you are any help!" Snapped Sirius, turning as far away from them as was possible without slowing the steady counterclockwise movement of his arm. "It's at twenty. I think. Pretty positive." He paused to watch the spoon he held continue in a wide circle. "_Now_ it would be twenty-one."

"You _think_? Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Oh like you're one to talk, James. You've been more than distracting."

"Well it's not _my_ fault I want to turn all the Slytherin robes pink before tomorrow. I mean, it's technically my fault, but it's more the fault of the Slytherins for being slimy gits, really."

"Well, I do quite like turning the Slytherins strange colors…"

"Will you two be quiet and just let Sirius stir?"

"Merlin," Sirius muttered under his breath, tapping the side of the cauldron with his wand to keep the temperature right. "It's a wonder we get anything done."

"It's 'cause of Moony." James grinned as he spoke, leaning in a little closer to the bubbling cauldron than Remus would've thought wise, had he been there. As he was not, no one commented about the possible danger. "He keeps us on track with his Prefect-ways. Encourages us by discouraging us, as it were." This last statement was punctuated by James pushing his glasses back up his nose just before they slipped into the potion. Glasses were not a standard ingredient in most potions.

"He doesn't _always_ discourage us." Pointed out Peter, rocking back on his heels as he watched the potion's color shift from a sickly green to a far more soothing blue. "He comes up with some pretty brilliant stuff when he wants to. What color is it supposed to be in the end?"

"Er," Sirius nudged the book that had been unceremoniously dumped at his feet at some point with one socked toe, continuing the stirring diligently as he peered down his nose at the dog-eared page. "White. That says white, doesn't it?" James picked the book up to verify, tousling his hair like a madman.

"Yeah. White. What did we put in it that would make it white?"

"How am I supposed to bloody know? It's been brewing for months with no interaction except for the temperature changing!" It was hard to seem irritated while trying to keep up a rhythmic motion, Sirius decided, resisting his usual urge to throw his hands about wildly while he spoke. Expressive, he called it.

Unseemly, Moony would say.

"We could check the list again." Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced around. "Did we keep the list?"

"Again, Pete, months ago." James gave the floor in front of him an appraising look. "You two don't think the _room_ might've kept the list, do you? I mean, it'd make sense."

"Worth a try." Sirius shrugged with his free shoulder, and ignoring the niggling voice in his mind (one that sounded strangely like Remus) that told him that James making sense was a very, very dangerous thing. "I _Require_ the ingredient list for the second Animagus potion."

"Oh," Said Peter, as the creased parchment dropped into his hand, written in Sirius's messy scrawl and accented by border-commentary in his and James's handwriting, along with a few helpful doodles of what an ingredient might look like and also Lily's hair. "That's handy."

"That it is." James grinned his most mischievous grin, which, coincidentally, was just his normal smile. "I _Require_ Lily Eva-" He was stopped by Sirius's sleeve in his mouth.

"You twat, you almost made me lose rhythm! You can't do that! She'd come in here and want to know what we were doing and where we bloody are!"

"It was unicorn hair." Said Peter, wisely keeping out of the way of the one-sided argument taking place.

"Yeah," James replied dreamily, as he spit out the fuzz that had been on Sirius's robe. "And she's smart enough to figure it out too."

"Right. So shut up." Sirius spat, giving the cauldron a last tap with his wand before apprehensively pulling out the spoon, watching as it shifted from the cool blue to a dazzling white within seconds. "I think that's as many as we needed, actually."

"You were keeping track while you stuffed your shirt in my mouth?"

"Yes, though it must come as a shock to know that not everyone is as one-track minded as you are." James snorted rudely at this.

"Yes Sirius. Because you are the boy of many tracks. You with your obsessive mirror-looking and inability to focus for more than five seconds-"

"That proves it, then! My hyperactivity prevents me from having a one-track _anything!_"

"Um. Are we going to drink it, then?"

"Yeah, Pete. Thought I'd let it cool first, right?"

(-line-)

It hadn't _seemed_ like a life-changing sip.

One gulp, one down-the-hatch, and one apprehensive, nose pinched, medicinal swallow; they had all seemed like fairly normal sips. But it is the content that makes the digestion, and so, white liquid settling in their stomachs, three out of four Marauders were nervous.

James ruffled his hair and paced through the room like the floor was going to swallow him whole if he stopped moving. Sirius gnawed at his lower lip until it was red and bruised, and twisted his sleeves around his fingertips until the buttons on his cuffs popped off. Peter sat stock-still, twitching every so often, and tapping his toes on the floor. Suddenly they felt it; a shift and a change, a twitch in the air, and Sirius found that hidden beneath his human mind there was an unbelievable urge to chase squirrels. James stamped the floor several times. Peter twitched much more than usual, entire body tight with listening. Then all three boys broke the trance and rushed to each other, whooping, grinning, tackling.

They'd achieved the mind bit.

They just wondered what sorts of animals they were becoming.

**A/N: **I always appreciate reviews, as they give me muse, but they're not necessary if people don't want to leave them. Chapter 9 is in the works!


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